Royalty
by ionizable
Summary: FE9/10 "Sometimes, he thinks he's just not suited for this." Ten 100-word drabbles about their life, post-game.


**01. integration**

Most of the work isn't even being done by him, yet he still feels incredibly drained by all the commotion caused by his... _their_ marriage. He honestly couldn't give a damn whether he is to be referred to as the King Consort or the Prince Consort, or if his retinue should consist of 9 or 11 men. It's exhausting, to be expected to know that he _obviously_ would never be referred to as the King proper, and that _obviously _it would be improper for a woman to be on his retainer. Sometimes, he thinks he's just not suited for this.

**02. snack**

One would assume that a Queen would be able to enjoy all the luxuries in the world, such as enjoying a midnight snack or two, but one would be wrong. This isn't the first time she's enlisted someone's help in order to be able to keep the whole castle from knowing she's got a sweet tooth as bad as Lucia's, but for some reason it's mortifying to see him smirking over his cup of hot chocolate at her. _I wish we weren't childhood friends_, she thinks crossly, _and that he didn't remember all the trouble we used to get into_.

**03. leisure**

He pretends that he can't see the Royal Guards slacking off out of the corner of his eye. A few weeks ago, nothing would have stopped him from ordering them to stop lazing about in the sun like a bunch of fat hounds. It wasn't until Elincia had gently suggested that perhaps he ought to adopt a more generous viewpoint, and that just because he wasn't able to roll around on the grass anymore didn't mean that the rest of Crimea's citizens couldn't. It wasn't as though he was inclined to rolling around in the grass to begin with, anyway.

**04. study**

She's so very proud of him, she realizes at dinner one day. It was one thing to be loyal and overprotective of her almost to a fault, and another to be so able-bodied and quick-witted in battle. It involved quite a whole different spectrum of qualities to be able to absorb all this jibber-jabber about decorum and politics nonstop. _I think you've studied enough for today_, she says. She waves off the tutor who's been lecturing for nearly three hours with a gracious smile and laughter in her eyes as he turns to her with an expression of sheer gratitude.

**05. inconsistency**

Whenever they make love, he tries not to notice how her eyes always seem to hold some confusion in them as soon as they open. He tries not to notice the way her hands stay rooted in his hair, refusing to explore his body so that she won't find differences between his arms and _his_ arms. He tries not to notice that she never says a word, that she refuses to look at him unless it's dark, and that she always kisses him silently before they fall asleep, as if to reassure herself that she loves him and not _him_.

**06. eternity**

_It's been forever and a day since we first met, hasn't it? _she says to him deliberately, observing his reaction. Bemused, he nods, and smiles a little wanly as he comments on the intense familiarity they share because of how long they've known each other. She's disappointed, though she won't admit as much, but he can tell that she's somewhat dissatisfied by his answer. He doesn't know why, and chooses not to press her for a reason, so she won't tell him that she misses the days when he used to promise of eternity and other such lovestruck sappy things.

**07. narrative**

He tends to gets bored during terribly important discussions with terribly important men, and tunes them out and watches their lips move. He's gotten quite good at fake lip-reading, actually, so the hours pass by with him pretending that these terribly important men are having a conversation about the amount of breathing space a man's underwear should have. By the tug of her lips and the fact that he'd once confessed of this to her, he knows that he's probably grinning to himself like a crazed fool. So instead he grins at her, watching her breath catch and pulse flutter.

**08. shoot**

Archery was definitely not something the Prince/King Consort was naturally predisposed to mastering, yet he and the Queen continued with their lessons. She knows that her husband would sooner divorce her and run away to Daein with a woman like Calill rather than admit that he is unable to master the weapon. As easy as it'd be to sit back and observe him as he struggled, she continues to pretend she's every bit as challenged as he is and tries to hide her girlish amusement as he stands snugly behind her and guides her arms as she shoots her arrows.

**09. lecture**

Almost every day he suffers her endless rebukes as she tells him not to hover over her, or drop pieces of food on her plate, or fuss with her train. She tells him it's distracting, and unnecessary, and that's what her maids are for. He knows he's being over-protective of her, and sometimes he thinks to himself that it might be that he's doing these things on purpose. As long as her lectures run, she never once chastises him for being clingy, and he wonders how many other things she restrains herself from mentioning for fear of hurting his feelings.

**10. talk**

Naturally blunt to begin with, she knows it's difficult for him to behave graciously around Lord Ike's friends, particularly when Ike comes up as the subject of the conversation. She also knows he's aware of how uncomfortable she is around Calill, even if he might not realize the reason why. She has difficulty articulating all this to him, and he has difficulty grasping her meaning, but eventually, as they usually do, they get the message across to each other. _Communication may not be their strong point_, she reflects, _but somehow at the end of the day they know what's important_.


End file.
